In serious trouble. Legal letter!!

Fizzy_Vimto · #1 06-19-2010

Hi guys, im back after a while away.

Basically i stopped selling on eBay as i had university exams and they banned me for presenting a risk to the community.

Anyway i just paid it no mind and thought about a stealth account.

BUT recently my dad received a letter in the post from Rosetta Stone declaring that legal action will be taken against me and that i should write a letter declaring that i cease to sell anymore of the items. I would of ignored it but for some strange reason it went to my dads address. PLEASE NOTE i have never registered an account there, not the same name, not the same address but the phone number i used to register the account was for his house. Still find it weird that letter was sent there.

Anyway my Dad rang these people and the headquarters are in London and he told them he had nothing to do with eBay but that his son did (Me) so basically now i have to ring them and sort something out as my dad is going f'in mental about it.

I really don't know what to admit to on the phone. The items i sold were the language sets and i only sold 4 i think in total so nothing major.

Do you think i should play dumb and just say that i bought them from some guy on a market stall who wanted to get rid of them and i thought i could make some profit by selling them on eBay but had no idea that they were copyrighted against. Furthermore with it being from Rosetta Stone do you think i should keep quiet about all the other items as they are only concerned with their product.

Please help me as im really worried on what is going to happen!

jbluntz · #2 06-19-2010

I would just ignore it, I don't think they would sue you for selling 4, I would just deny you sold any.

Fizzy_Vimto · #3 06-19-2010

Yeah, you see the thing is now my parents are involved they are panicking and said they will ring them themselves and tell them what i've been doing. If it had come to my university address then i would of ignored it. just confused on what to say. I might just say i sold them but had no idea they were copyrighted and i will cease selling them completely.

teedon · #4 06-19-2010

yes,just ignore it,just 4 pcs,they will do nothing for you.

optioner · #5 06-19-2010

Dont Ignore these MF[Rosetta Stone] they contacted your Dad so they means business !

Just tell these MF that you're a poor UVY student and were able to buy these 4 pcs from some Foreighn students for a good price to sell on eBay ---that you're Very Sorry bla2 and will NOT ever do this No more

EveryBody has a Soft Spot for a $truggling $tudent

Burning · #6 06-19-2010

The only reason they got your real address was that the home phone number. I would NEVER use my home phone for ebay purposes! They can easily track your phone number by using searching reverse phone number online.

teedon · #7 06-19-2010

i do not think they will believe your reason like this,just ignore them and they will not contact you any more after a while.If you sold 500 pcs,and they will keep to contact you .But if you only sold 4 pcs,they do not happy to spend too much on you,as they get nothing from you finally.

jeffweico · #8 06-19-2010

I don't think he CAN ignore it. His parents are now involved, and they do not understand the intricacies of what he is doing, so that presents a problem. For someone who has never been involved with anything like this, that is one SCARY letter!

I like the first idea. I would not send them anything in writing, if you can avoid it. I would call them and sound scared out of my mind - if you can pull off sounding like you are going to cry, that could help.

One of their questions will be "who did you get it from", they will want as much information as possible. I wouldn't say a foreign student, as that could lead to them wanting actual names, and they could end up contacting the University.

I would just give them the location of a real flea market, and say that you just thought you found a great deal and saw a chance to make a little extra money, that you had no idea they were ⊗⊗⊗⊗ or that you were infringing on anybody's trademarks or copyrights. You just thought they were overstocked items, or closeouts.

Of course, tell them you have no idea of the person's name who sold them to you. Tell them you only sold 4 (but only if that is true, they COULD try to verify it with eBay) and that you are very sorry, that you would never do this again in a million years and say something like "please, I'm BEGGING YOU, I am so, so, so sorry, etc."

The problem with using someone else's phone number or address that you know (like a friend or relative), as you have now found out, is that you cannot control the situation if anything goes wrong, like it did here. Your parents are now likely wicked pissed as they don't want to lose everything they have worked for their whole lives and may also be afraid of criminal prosecution. So, they probably won't let you ignore it.

Please bear in mind that I am not located in the UK and I am not an attorney. I'm just saying what I would do in this situation. You may want to speak with a lawyer before you do anything, but I think this would work. My guess is the person handling this would think oh, he's just a college student, a scared kid who made a stupid mistake - he only sold 4 of them and I doubt he would do it again, what could we gain by going after him?

At least, that is what I would try to make them think.

teedon · #9 06-19-2010

jeff,your idea sound reasonable,but in my opinion,if you call them too much and they will know you are too much care this case and you are very scare them ,and they will sure they can continue to give you troubles and even tell you pay the pennies as much as you can.So just ignore it and they will not contact you after a while.They will send you the court because of 4 pcs?

jeffweico · #10 06-19-2010

Teedon, I totally agree with you. But what does he tell his parents? And what about the fact that they already spoke with them and told them their son was involved?

I think this has already gone too far for him to ignore it.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree 100% with not responding to anything. Deny, don't respond and stop selling whatever was causing the problem. But I think its too late for that.

Just my opinion.

jbluntz · #11 06-19-2010

He tells his parents to forget about it and that everything will be just fine.

slapped · #12 06-19-2010

He CAN Ignore it if he Wants. I have dealt with these Guys In the past. At the End of the day there is NO Prosecutor Here in the U.S. or ANYWHERE That would take a case for only 4 Units sold---Thats a FACT.

What I would do, Only Because my dad was involved is to simply tell them that you will NO LONGER sell Rosetta Stone, but at the Same time NOT Admitting that you sold it in the Past, And THATS IT, if they want ANYTHING MORE, Tell them that you will only comply if ordered to do so under Penality of the Law in a Civil Litigation Case,---In other words tell them to Take you to COURT, they will NEVER DO IT!!!

jeffweico · #13 06-19-2010

Fizzy,

These guys are more experienced in these matters than I am, so you probably want to take their advice. Any chance of convincing your parents to simply ignoire them from now on?

Fizzy_Vimto · #14 06-19-2010

Really some interesting replies here and it gives me some idea of what to say on the phone. It's hard to explain to my parents what exactly has gone on and how not to be worried as i only sold 4 MAX.

Only thing im worried about is do you reckon a representative for rosetta stone could of bought one of the sets. If so im pretty screwed as i dropshipped them from china so would be able to tell. If not i could easily palm them off and say i got a few from a market as a guy needed to get rid of them and only did it to make a fast buck. Hopefully the WORST he can give me is a little fine. even i dont believe they would take me to court for 4 pieces it would not be cost effective. Especially if im only a university student making some cash on the side to pay my rent.

oompaloompa · #15 06-19-2010

exactly parents should support their kids interests, instead of being jerks and reacting without thinking it through.........my parents would keep their mouths shut. Its not about being worried, its about keeping it in the family, they should have enough life experience to understand that..

I personally would not reply to anything at all ever...you have not been caught at a market red-handed, the evidence eg, phone etc points to you but it could have been someone else in household etc or friend using your details etc, and that is their dilemma, they are waiting for an admission, its all they would really have thats concrete......

Fizzy_Vimto · #16 06-19-2010

Yeah, it's obviously worrying when my parents haven't had anything like this before. The letter also said if i didn't respond within 5 days that they would pass the case file onto the police to investigate.

Do you not reckon it's possible then that they have bought one of the items i was selling so therefore have proof of it being counterfeit? Although i should note that the 4 people i sold them to were completely happy i believe as i never received any emails wanting a refund or anything.

As i said though i would of left it but my parents said if i do not ring the guy they spoke to in London they will do it. Does anyone know if they will be interested in all my other items, or is it solely a rosetta stone matter?

jeffweico · #17 06-19-2010

Just a quick idea...

It seems to me that a lot of people could be spared a lot of grief if there was a post in the Subsrcibers FAQ area that listed products to avoid like the plague!

Rosetta Stone, X90, Insanity, etc.

Just a thought...

oompaloompa · #18 06-19-2010

tell your parents how serious it is for you to admit anything, compared with not saying anything, if they do not relent, they are seriously messed up..........tell them to read these answers. FIZZY VIMTOS PARENTS! DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR KID, THE OFFICE YOU ARE CALLING WILL THINK YOU ARE IDIOTS FOR ADMITING TO THIS, THEY WOULDNT DO IT IF IT WERE THEIR KID, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE WAY IT WORKS..WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Rosetta stone rep will only be interested in that product unless they are representing other brands you have....

NTP · #19 06-19-2010

I really can't figure out how Rosetta Stone stays in business with the prices they charge for their product.

Fizzy_Vimto · #20 06-19-2010

would there be any chance they would believe me if i said that i never actually sold them. If i say the listing was taken down and i refunded the people who had bought them?

jeffweico · #21 06-19-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fizzy_Vimto

would there be any chance they would believe me if i said that i never actually sold them. If i say the listing was taken down and i refunded the people who had bought them?

I think calling them and denying it is the worst thing you could do. Better to not respond at all if that is the case. They got your dad's phone number from eBay, right? So, they may have also found out already that they were sold.

I think if you do this, they will try to trip you up somehow. Remember, they do this for a living and have probably heard all of the excuses before.

NTP · #22 06-19-2010

And....if you say that you refunded the monies they would probably ask you to send them the product.

Jeff is right, they will only try to trip you up.

Keep it simple. Try not to contact them at all. The more you lie or try to explain yourself, the worse it could get.